The Worldbuilder's Tavern
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The Worldbuilder's Tavern is a bi-weekly podcast for sci-fi and fantasy writers. The hosts (writer, makeup artist, and dungeon master Emma Maione; writer and developmental editor Allison Alexander; and marketing manager and academic Christiana Jones) break down the worldbuilding of speculative shows, movies, and books, sharing insights into how creatives can apply professional storytelling techniques to their own projects.
31 Episodes
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In this episode, we're talking about humour, morality, and the afterlife in the TV show The Good Place.
Proprietor's Pick: How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
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In this episode, we're chatting with author Trudie Skies about deities, races, domains, magic, and expansive worldbuilding in The Thirteenth Hour, a gaslamp adult fantasy and the first in The Cruel Gods series.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
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Find Trudie Skies trudieskies.com
In this episode, we're chatting about historical worldbuilding, weirdness, anti-capitalism, and ecological themes in the Studio Ghibli movie Princess Mononoke.
Proprietor's Pick: Godkiller by Hannah Kaner
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
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In this episode, we're chatting about situational humour, aliens, montages, and time loops in the movie Edge of Tomorrow.
Proprietor's Pick: The Misfit Soldier by Michael Mammay
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
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In this episode, we're chatting with author Kristen Ciccarelli about blood magic, witches, and witch hunters in Heartless Hunter, the YA fantasy romance inspired by the The Scarlet Pimpernel.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
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Find Kristen Ciccarelli at kristenciccarelli.com
The Universal Fantasy Workbook by T. Taylor
The Psychology of Fiction with Jennifer Lynn Barnes
In this episode, we're chatting about worldbuilding in the shadows, how actions matter, and adaptable storytelling in the video game Baldur's Gate 3.
Proprietor's Pick: The West Passage by Jared Pechaček
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
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In this episode, we're chatting with author Margaret Rogerson about religion, spirits, and dark magic in the YA fantasy novel Vespertine.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
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Find Margaret Rogerson at margaretrogerson.com
In this episode, we're chatting about the worldbuilding in the movie 9.
Proprietor's Pick: The Last Human by Lee Bacon
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
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Listen in as we chat about superpowers and superhero society, having a large cast, and female characters in the anime My Hero Academia.
Proprietor's Pick: Saving Fable by Scott Reintgen
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
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We've got fantasy author Sunyi Dean with us on this week's episode of the podcast! Listen in as we chat about her 2022 debut novel, The Book Eaters, how to decide what worldbuilding details to include and what to cut, oppressive societies, the goal of your story, and the power of books.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
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Find Sunyi Dean at sunyidean.com
Check out the Publishing Rodeo podcast
Listen in as we chat about how to write comedy and action for different age categories, traditional vs. self-publishing, the "sucked into a video game" genre, and the movie Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
Proprietor's Pick: Rainbow in the Dark by Sean McGinty
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
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In today's episode, we're chatting about bending, magic rules, disability, and how to reveal worldbuilding details as they relate to character via Avatar: The Last Airbender!
Proprietor's Pick: Wingbearer by Marjorie M. Liu and Teny Issakhanian
"Five Tips for Writing Disabled Characters in Speculative Fiction" by Allison Alexander
"How to Escape the Show Don't Tell Trap" by Jeni Chappelle
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
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Join us for a chat with author Ada Hoffmann about their sci-fi horror novel The Outside. We talk about how to choose narrating characters, writing antagonists, writing nonbinary characters, and making stuff up when worldbuilding.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
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Find Ada Hoffmann at ada-hoffmann.com
Join us for a chat about Over the Garden Wall, the animated series that you have probably never heard of! We chat about dream sequences, leaving clues, over-explaining, and trusting your readers.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
Proprietor's Pick: The Horrible Bag of Terrible Things by Rob Renzetti
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Season Two is here! In this episode, we talk about the TV series Wheel of Time, adapted from the novels by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. We chat about complex worldbuilding and how to distill it, why it doesn't matter if the show is different from the book, and gendered magic systems.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
Proprietor's Pick: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
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It's the Season One finale! In this episode, we talk about House of the Dragon, so be prepared for some dark and disturbing topics. Allison gives her top seven horrifying moments from the show, and we give some tips on how to write your own grimdark worlds.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
Proprietor's Pick: The Sword Defiant by Gareth Hanrahan
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In this episode, we talk about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom with guest Jeni Chappelle! We talk about how to immerse readers in your world, telling information out of order, and how to write interesting puzzles.
Jeni is an independent book editor, a co-founder and editor for Twitter pitch event Revise & Resub (#RevPit); and co-host of the Indie Chicks and Story Chat Radio podcasts. Find her at Jeni Chappelle Editorial.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
Proprietor's Pick: In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune
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We discuss Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer in this episode! We talk about how weird it is, the unsettling narration style, and how to worldbuild according to genre.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
Proprietor's Pick: Lone Women by Victor LaValle
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As per Bigolas Dickolas's recommendation, we're discussing the novella This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone! Learn how to use worldbuilding as a backdrop and subtle ways to deliver worldbuilding in this week's episode.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
Proprietor's Pick: Translation State by Anne Leckie
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What is worldbuilding without fat dragons, magicless bards, and birdfolk named Jarnathan? Join us for a discussion about the fun romp that is Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
And don't forget to vote on the topic of our finale episode! Will we discuss the worldbuilding of Wednesday, The Last of Us, or House of the Dragon? It's up to you, dear listeners! Cast your vote on Twitter here. If you're a patron, vote here instead, and your vote counts as double!
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
Proprietor's Pick: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty
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